Rumors

There's growing consensus among the pundits that it could take time for GM Garth Snow to find a suitable deal for Travis Hamonic.

The New York Islanders' efforts to honor defenseman Travis Hamonic's trade request continues to dominate the NHL rumor mill. There's growing consensus among the pundits that it could take time for GM Garth Snow to find a suitable deal.

While the Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets are considered the likely destinations for Hamonic, finding the right return is another matter. Snow's asking price is believed to be a comparable defenseman.

The Oilers have two promising rearguards in Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse, but it's unlikely they'll part with either guy. Tyler Myers, Dustin Byfuglien or Jacob Trouba are often raised as a possible return for Hamonic. Byfuglien and Trouba are due for new contracts next summer, which complicates matters. Myers was only acquired last season and the Jets could be unwilling to move him.

Michael Russo of StarTribune.com reports Hamonic has expanded his list of trade destination to include the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche. While Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has spoken with Snow, Russo claims he's yet to speak with Hamonic's agent. He suggests offering up Jonas Brodin might make the most sense.

Including other players in the deal could speed things along. The New York Post's Larry Brooks wonders if a larger deal between the Islanders and Jets is possible. He suggests a package of Hamonic and one or two of the Isles top prospects to Winnipeg for either Trouba or Myers plus Byfuglien.

Brooks observes Byfuglien, a UFA in July, probably won't re-sign with the Isles, but he could help them at least for this season. He also wonders if Isles winger Kyle Okposo (also a pending UFA) could become part of the equation.

If a multiplayer deal between two teams won't work, perhaps a three-way trade could be the answer. Over the weekend, USA Today's Kevin Allen and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman proposed that option.

Friedman claimed the Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings contacted the Isles but were told they aren't a fit. That's because they're too far from Manitoba, where Hamonic makes his off-season home. However, if the Wings, Ducks or Kings were to get into the conversation between the Islanders and either the Oilers or Jets, a three-way swap could be possible.

It's widely assumed Snow won't rush into making a deal. Hamonic understands the situation and isn't pressuring management to move him. This could take weeks or months, possibly stretching into next summer, before the right deal is made.

CANADIENS ON THE HUNT FOR TOP-SIX WINGER

The Montreal Canadiens enter this week jockeying for first overall in the Eastern Conference. However, there's growing speculation GM Marc Bergevin is testing the trade market. Depth at right wing is an issue, especially with Brendan Gallagher sidelined indefinitely with two fractured left fingers.

Even before Gallagher's injury on Sunday, there was talk the Habs are looking for a winger. NBC Sports' Jason Brough observes right wing Alexander Semin, brought in last summer on a one-year, $1.1-million deal, is a frequent healthy scratch. Coach Michel Therrien recently employed fourth-liner Torrey Mitchell as a second-line right wing.

It will take time for Bergevin to find that second-line right winger. While he has around $2.5 million in cap space (more if he demoted Semin to the minors or places Gallagher on long-term injured reserve), finding an affordable fit this early in the season isn't easy. Given the Habs current place in the standings. Bergevin can afford to be patient.

If pending UFAs like Arizona's Shane Doan, Calgary's Jiri Hudler, Vancouver's Radim Vrbata and the New York Islanders' Kyle Okposo haven't re-signed by the trade deadline, they could become trade targets for Bergevin. Loui Eriksson of the Boston Bruins could also be shopped at the deadline, but the Bruins won't ship him to their long-time rivals.

If Bergevin seeks a long-term pickup, Columbus' Cam Atkinson and Toronto's Joffrey Lupul have frequently surfaced in trade chatter this season. Both still have term remaining on their respective contracts.

Rumor Roundup appears regularly only on thehockeynews.com. Lyle Richardson has been an NHL commentator since 1998 on his website, spectorshockey.net, and is a contributing writer for Eishockey News and The Guardian (P.E.I.).

John Tavares scores with a move no one had ever done before

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John Tavares scores with a move no one had ever done before

The New York Islanders captain undressed Jay Bouwmeester in the most unusual of ways, but the important thing is he kept the puck. Then he buried it

John Tavares: good at hockey.

The New York Islanders captain pulled off an absolutely stunning series of moves last night, culminating in a laser-shot goal against St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen. But let's get back to his humbling of Olympic gold medallist Jay Bouwmeester, because that's where the real magic happened.

Witness, as Tavares puts his stick behind his back and grabs it with his other hand while still skating and fending off Bouwmeester. Then, since he is a patient boy, Tavares waits and waits and waits before firing one top corner on Allen:

As the soccer folks would say, lovely. New York would go on to beat the Blues 3-2, with Anders Lee scoring the other two goals for the Isles. After struggling to begin the season, New York is now 6-2-2 in its past 10 games. Tavares leads the squad with 21 points through 26 contests.

Canadiens’ Pacioretty spent all of November playing on a broken foot

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Canadiens’ Pacioretty spent all of November playing on a broken foot

Max Pacioretty has a good reason for his slump throughout November: he was playing with a broken foot. Pacioretty found his groove to start December, though, with three goals and four points in four games.

The Canadiens’ major off-season move saw P.K. Subban shipped out to Nashville in exchange for Predators captain Shea Weber, and there have been rumblings that Montreal could be heading towards another major move at some point this season, this including captain Max Pacioretty.

While the rumor may sound far-fetched or bizarre, it wasn’t without reason. You see, Pacioretty, 28, was off to one of the slowest starts of his career and through the early part of the season he looked as though he was a shell of his former goal-scoring self. By the end of October, Pacioretty had just two goals. Come the end of November, he had increased that to just five. All the while, Pacioretty was watching his ice time fluctuate.

It’s near impossible to know exactly when the injury came, especially without Pacioretty outright saying when it occurred, but it’s not hard to believe that the veteran winger was fighting through injury over the course of the past month. Pacioretty has been one of the league’s most consistent goal scorers in the past four seasons.

From the start of the 2012-13 lockout shortened campaign until the culmination of the 2015-16 season, Pacioretty scored 121 goals, good for the ninth most in the league. His .43 goals per game rate over that span is the same as that of Jamie Benn’s and ranked ahead of Sidney Crosby, Rick Nash, James Neal, Vladimir Tarasenko, Evgeni Malkin and you get the point. This season, though, Pacioretty’s five goals through 23 games had his goals rate at roughly half of his rate of the past few seasons.

That has changed in early December, though. Since the calendar turned over, Pacioretty has been one of the hottest scorers in the Montreal lineup and a terror on the ice. In four games, he has a team-leading three goals and four points, no one has put more rubber on net than Pacioretty’s 15 shots and there isn’t a single forward in the lineup seeing more ice time or shifts. He broke out of his November-long slump in a big way, too, with a two-goal, three-point performance against the usually smothering Los Angeles Kings.

If Pacioretty is fully healed, and his recent performance seems to indicate as such, don’t expect those trade rumors to keep gathering much, or any, steam. Finding his form from past seasons makes him one of the best weapons in the Canadiens’ lineup and a potential game breaker as the season wears on.

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Power Rankings: Red-hot Blue Jackets still fighting for respect

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Power Rankings: Red-hot Blue Jackets still fighting for respect

The Blue Jackets have been the most pleasant surprise in the NHL this season, but it's still going to take convincing for the hockey world to believe they're for real.

We’ll totally understand if you’re having just a little trouble getting on board with the 2016-17 version of the Columbus Blue Jackets. After all, you’ve probably been burned before.

Their fan base certainly seems to be wary. Despite the fact the Blue Jackets are the surprise of the NHL and have emerged as one of the most dynamic and exciting teams in the league, they drawn fewer than 12,000 in three of their past four home games. Even their coach thinks the team has work to do to earn their fans’ trust. “I want our team to have a chip on their shoulder,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella told Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch recently. “I think they should. We’re trying to get respect in the league. Quite honestly, we should be disrespected because of where we’ve been.”

That won’t last long if the Blue Jackets keep this up. The league’s best power play continues to fuel one of the league’s hottest teams and has landed them at the top of thn.com’s weekly Power Rankings for the second time this season. Last week’s rankings in parentheses:

CREAM OF THE CROP

1. Columbus Blue Jackets (8)

2. Philadelphia Flyers (15)

3. Pittsburgh Penguins (6)

4. St. Louis Blues (2)

5. Chicago Blackhawks (5)

6. Montreal Canadiens (7)

7. New York Rangers (4)

8. San Jose Sharks (11)

9. Boston Bruins (20)

10. Calgary Flames (27)

Is there a bigger bargain or a shrewder off-season signing than Sam Gagner?...Steve Mason went from one of the worst goalies in the NHL early in the season to one of the best of late. His save percentage in his first 16 games was .892, but has improved to .947 in his past five… If Marc-Andre Fleury wants to get traded, he’s not doing himself any favor with his play lately…The Blues completed a 4-0-1 home stand with the game going into overtime…With Jonathan Toews and Corey Crawford already out, the Blackhawks lost defenseman Brent Seabrook in their 4-0 win over Arizona Tuesday night…How will the Canadiens and the surprising Alexander Radulov respond to the injury to Alex Galchenyuk?...The injury-ravaged Rangers saw Rick Nash go down with a groin injury and Matt Puempel to a concussion in their 4-2 loss to the Islanders Tuesday night…Joe Thornton passed Brendan Shanahan for 25th all-time on the NHL’s scoring list with an assist in a 2-1 win over Montreal last week…Anyone who predicted David Pastrnak would be in Rocket Richard Trophy contention a third of the way into the season is looking very bright at the moment…The Flames were already one of the hottest teams in the NHL without Johnny Gaudreau, then won their first two with him back in the lineup.

THE MUSHY MIDDLE

11. Washington Capitals (11)

12. Edmonton Oilers (14)

13. Ottawa Senators (12)

14. Los Angeles Kings (1)

15. New Jersey Devils (23)

16. Detroit Red Wings (16)

17. Nashville Predators (3)

18. Minnesota Wild (19)

19. Anaheim Ducks (10)

20. Winnipeg Jets (17)

Capitals coach Barry Trotz had some pointed words to Alex Ovechkin about his penchant for taking minor penalties of late. No cracks in the foundation, though. Just a frank discussion…The Oilers game Tuesday night against Buffalo was touted as Connor McDavid vs. Jack Eichel, the kind of narrative the Oilers have learned to accept. “Every night it’s Connor vs. Somebody,” said Oilers coach Todd McLellan…Goalie Craig Anderson started in the Senators’ 8-5 loss to Pittsburgh Monday night, but did not travel with the team for a three-game California trip to be with his wife as she undergoes treatment for throat cancer…The usually stingy Kings have given up 11 goals in their past three games. “That’s too many goals,” said Kings coach Darryl Sutter…Devils winger Taylor Hall on the aftermath of his clean, but devastating, hit on Philip Larsen Tuesday night: “I feel terrible.” Not to be trite, but Hall should not be feeling terrible about the way he has played since returning from a knee injury. He has five points in his past two games…Goalie Jimmy Howard will be back in uniform for the Red Wings when they host Columbus Friday night, but will have a difficult time pushing Petr Mrazek out of the crease…After missing four games with an upper-body injury, James Neal scored a goal in a 4-3 Predators’ win over Colorado Tuesday night…Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, whose career was revived when he came to Minnesota, will make his 300th career start tonight in Toronto…Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle could not pull Jonathan Bernier during his team’s 8-3 loss to Calgary because backup John Gibson was battling a stomach virus…Over the past 30 years, only Teemu Selanne and Alex Ovechkin have scored goals at a better pace than Patrik Laine of the Jets is scoring them now.

VYING FOR THE PARTICIPATION BADGE

21. New York Islanders (26)

22. Tampa Bay Lightning (22)

23. Carolina Hurricanes (25)

24. Buffalo Sabres (29)

25. Florida Panthers (24)

26. Vancouver Canucks (18)

27. Toronto Maple Leafs (13)

28. Dallas Stars (28)

29. Arizona Coyotes (21)

30. Colorado Avalanche (30)

With points in each of their past five games, four of them wins, the Islanders are easily on their most successful string of the season…The Lightning could get Ryan Callahan, Jason Garrison and Jonathan Drouin back for their home game against Vancouver Thursday night…Jordan Staal, sidelined for the past four games with a concussion, likely won’t be available to the Hurricanes for a three-game road trip through California that begins tonight…After playing almost 500 games in the minors, defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer made his NHL debut in the Sabres’ 3-2 overtime win over Washington Tuesday night… Panthers have gone to overtime in four of their five games GM Tom Rowe has been behind the bench. They’ve won one in overtime, lost two in OT and one in a shootout…Philip Larsen, who was taken off the ice on a stretcher after a hit from Taylor Hall Tuesday night, was released from hospital in New Jersey Wednesday morning and was cleared to return to Vancouver while the Canucks continue on a five-game road trip…After waiving Jhonas Enroth, the Maple Leafs search for a backup goalie continues. They signed Karri Ramo to a professional tryout contract and assigned him to their farm team. That should cure everything…The Coyotes have been outscored 14-6 and have averaged 41 shots against per game in an 0-3-1 month of December…All nine of Matt Duchene’s goals this season have come on the road. The Avs could use that kind of production at the Pepsi Center, where they’re 4-8-1 this season and recently went 0-4-1 on a five-game homestand.

News

ECHL defenseman Anthony Calabrese is “lucky to be alive” after a “careless, reckless” hit, and Tyler Murovich, who delivered the blow, has been given a 12-game suspension as a first-time offender.

There are few plays scarier than seeing a player hit from behind and sent headfirst into the boards. That kind of play is made that much harder to watch when knowing the severity of the injury suffered.

During an ECHL contest on Nov. 24 between the Norfolk Admirals and Atlanta Gladiators, ECHL veteran Tyler Murovich delivered an incredibly dangerous shove to the back of Anthony Calabrese, a 24-year-old defenseman who’s only 12 games into his ECHL career.

The result of the hit was frightening. Calabrese was left laying face down on the ice, near motionless. The Admirals rearguard would eventually be placed on a stretcher, taken from the ice and transported to hospital.

That may seem harsh to some given that Murovich is a first-time offender, but given the severity of Calabrese’s injury, it actually seems like a somewhat light punishment.

As a result of the hit, Calabrese suffered broken C7 and T1 vertebrae. In simpler terms, he broke both his neck and his back. Oh, and he also punctured his lung. In fact, Calabrese told The Virginian-Pilot’s Jim Hodges that doctors told the young center that he’s “lucky to be alive.”

“It was a miracle, and they say I’m going to make a full recovery,” Calabrese told Hodges. “It’s going to be a long road, but I’d rather be alive than be in a wheelchair the rest of my life.”

What helped Calabrese escape with his life, he told Hodges, was advice he had gotten early in his career from a high school coach. Calabrese was taught that if he was ever going into the boards head first to lift his chin and turn to the side in an attempt to avoid taking the brunt of the impact with the top of his head.

“That’s honestly the only thing that registered in my mind when I was going in: at the last minute, pick my head up,” Calabrese told Hodges. “I remember picking my head up and turning it to the right.”

Thankfully, doctors told Calabrese that he can eventually return to the ice and that the injuries suffered from the hit won’t cost him his career. His spinal cord, he told Hodges, wasn’t damaged due to the hit. And, as hard as it may be to believe, doctors said it was the “best possible break” in a situation such as Calabrese’s.